Someone Like You
by MissAriannaDark
Summary: Valkyrie needed a distraction from all the things that were happening. But what happens when she finds herself actually caring? I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant.
1. Prologue

Valkyrie had a bad dating history. With her first **"**proper**" **boyfriend, Fletcher Renn, the relationship had ended because of cheating. And Valkyrie was the one who did the cheating. With whom you may ask? No other than that stupid vampire, Caelan. Let's just say that that relationship didn't end so well.

Valkyrie just wanted someone that was fun to be around, but not overprotective, like Fletcher. That hadn't gone very well either.

She wasn't as **"**innocent**"** as some saw her. To put it bluntly, Valkyrie was a player. She had been **"**dating**" **several guys who had what she needed. She was cocky, self absorbed, and got any man that she wanted. Of course, after she found them useless she would leave them in the dust and find another distraction.

Valkyrie needed a distraction, and fast.

There was a simple yet devious answer to that problem.

_Skulduggery Pleasant..._


	2. Chapter 1

The day was cool, but pleasant enough to be outside. A gleaming black Bentley was carefully maneuvering on the small streets of Haggard.

The driver of the sleek car was no other than The Great Skeleton Detective. His partner, Valkyrie Cain**,**was beside him but seemed to be lost in her own jumbled thoughts.

Ever since she had broken up with Fletcher, Valkyrie had felt some sort of regret**, **but not the kind of regret where you want that person back and would do anything for them. Not even close. The type of regret Valkyrie felt was purely for her own advantage. Fletcher was like a human taxi for crying out loud! And he provided a nice distraction. Not just for Valkyrie herself but to others as well.

You see Miss Cain here had been in relationships with men other than Fletcher. (Yes, Valkyrie was a two-timing skank.)

So if she was in a "relationship"with somebody then that gave Valkyrie the excuse of not being focused or not making it to certain places. But now she had no excuse. At least, not without her dirty little secret being revealed. Valkyrie needed someone who kept quiet and didn't know her friends. And it was always a plus for Valkyrie when the guys are good kissers...

While Valkyrie was collecting her thoughts, Skulduggery noted that she was being unusually quiet.

'Alright, instead of asking the obvious, I'm going to go over what I do know and going over the possible problems.' Skulduggery's thoughts went into case-solving mode. 'Valkyrie already told me about Darquesse so it can't be anything worse than that**.**' His mind took an unexpected turn and then before he could stop he thought about even worse things. 'Prostitution? Is she a stripper? Is she doing drugs? Argh, stop thinking about this!'

Skulduggery had enough of his sinful thoughts! Skulduggery forgot about Valkyrie and turned his focus to driving the car. But even Skulduggery couldn't help but wonder if his partner was still innocent.

"We're here!" Skulduggery announced in a cheery voice. They had arrived at the new Sanctuary. The building was bland, but still looked clean. Well, cleaner than the Sanctuary in Roarhaven at least.

"At least it's better than the other one, "Valkyrie grumbled. Skulduggery picked up on her sour mood and stopped the conversation at that.

The Children of the Spider were murdered last month. So that apparently, gave the remaining elders the right to move where they felt they were needed most. Erskine and Ghastly seemed more than glad to be able to move back to Dublin.

It was Skulduggery's job to find out why and how, the Children of the Spider were murdered. He had brought Valkyrie along to help him solve the case. Sometimes Valkyrie wasn't much help to Skulduggery, but he enjoyed having her there for his own amusement.

But now, Skulduggery had to go face Grand Mage Ravel and Elder Bespoke. 'Let's just hope this goes well...'

Though, Skulduggery knew that nothing _ever_ went well.

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><p><strong>Skulduggery seems perverted in my mind...<strong>

**Review please?**


	3. Chapter 2

**Yay! Thank you if you reviewed! It makes me grin like an idiot :D**

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><p>Skulduggery and Valkyrie walked through the white corridors of the Sanctuary. The floors had been polished to a gleam, and the atmosphere of the place felt professional. The walls were made out of smooth gray stone. Golden plaques and awards cluttered the main entry and opened into a circular lobby.<p>

The administrator's desk stood tall and proud in the center of the floor.

"Hello," greeted the new administrator. The woman had long red hair that was similar to Eliza Scorn's but nowhere near as pretty. She looked to be about 30, but with magic nobody could ever really tell.

"Do you have an appointment with the Council?" she asked in an annoyingly nasal voice.

"Of course we do!" Skulduggery exclaimed. "Did you think I would just come barging in without an appointment? I think not."

The woman, neither Valkyrie nor Skulduggery remembered her name, led them down to a silver door. "The elders will be with you shortly," the administrator narrowed her eyes. "So don't cause any trouble here." She spun on her heel and went back to her desk.

Skulduggery walked in to the room and Valkyrie followed after him. The room had three chairs, more like thrones in Valkyrie opinion, in the center. There was another door opposite to them.

"As if _I_would cause any trouble." Skulduggery mocked. If Valkyrie wasn't in such a bad mood, she might have rolled her eyes at her mentor's remark.

If Skulduggery had eyebrows, they would have been raised. "What, no telling me how amazing I am?" he joked. "If I wasn't a detective, I probably wouldn't have guessed that you were upset about something. But alas, I am a detective. So let's just skip the part where I try and lure the information out of you and you can just tell me instead." Skulduggery turned to Valkyrie expectantly.

Valkyrie stayed quiet, much to Skulduggery's chagrin.

Valkyrie had wondered when Skulduggery would ask about her recent behavior, so if she needed a lie then there would be no problem. Just the part when he found out about her lying.

Skulduggery did not know how to get through to Valkyrie. After all those years with her, Skulduggery knew that she was stubborn do that left him in a weak position.

The silence was getting uncomfortable for both of them. Not awkward, but just plain uncomfortable.

Valkyrie finally spoke up, "It's nothing to worry about Skulduggery. I'm fine really." Valkyrie tried to speak in an innocent voice. She couldn't tell if it was working or not.

It was Skulduggery's turn to talk. "Did you know that when a person lies, they tend to look over to the left?" Skulduggery said a bit too smug for Valkyrie's liking.

Had she been looking over to the left? Valkyrie sure didn't know, but she wasn't going to let Skulduggery psych her out when she wasn't quite sure what she was going to do herself.

But Valkyrie had no land to stand on in this situation. Skulduggery just asked a simple question, so why not just tell an edited portion of truth?

"Alright Skulduggery, what happened was-"Valkyrie was cut off when a door across from them opened loudly.

"Skulduggery Pleasant, what a nice surprise," Erskine Ravel's voice filled the room.

Following him behind him was Ghastly Bespoke.  
>They both sat down on their chairs (no, thrones!) and Ghastly spoke first.<p>

"I'm guessing that this isn't just a friendly chat?"

"Oh you know how I enjoy our friendly chats Ghastly. Unfortunately, this is purely business," Skulduggery began. "As you all know, the Children of the Spider were recently murdered. And as much as I would love to make it look like they all committed suicide, I have to find out what _really_happened."

"Here is the case file and in it everything else you will need to solve this case." Ravel handed the file over to Skulduggery.

"That's it? You're not going to invite me for tea?" Skulduggery asked jokingly.

"No, for two obvious reasons: One, you can't drink tea. And two, we are much too busy for that. Goodbye now!" Ghastly countered and dismissed them.

Valkyrie swore she saw Ravel wink at her. She remembered the time when her and Ravel had a secret relationship. Not that anybody had known about it. But that's another story, for Valkyrie had to catch up on what happened in the small "meeting". She was quite distracted for most of it.

By now Skulduggery and Valkyrie were in the Bentley. _'Please don't let him ask again!' _Valkyrie silently begged in her mind that Skulduggery bring up the subject again. Who knows what she could accidentally say?

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><p><strong>Will you <em>please <em>review? Please?**


	4. Chapter 3

**OK, the flashback might have a little smut...**

**Sorry for the spacing, FanFiction keeps messing it up...**

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><p>The drive in the Bentley was awkward for Valkyrie. She wasn't really sure how it was for Skulduggery. Valkyrie let her mind wander to what she would say if Skulduggery found out what happened between her and Ravel.<p>

It's not like it was just her fault; Ravel had a part to play too.

Valkyrie remembered the day when they had almost gotten caught...

**_~FLASHBACK~_**

Valkyrie had just knocked on Erskine's door. She heard some shuffling on the other side and politely waited for him to answer.  
>Ravel's head popped out of the door opening.<p>

"Valkyrie!" he exclaimed**.**"It's great to see you."

"Erskine, it always is a pleasure seeing you," Valkyrie winked at him.

"Oh, I see. Since Skulduggery isn't with you I suspect this is our other business?" Ravel asked slyly.

If Valkyrie wasn't so busy checking Erskine out, she may replied with something witty and smart. But Ravel's body proved to be a big distraction. The outline of his strong arms was visible through his thin blue shirt.

Valkyrie loved the way Erskine's lips curved into that glorious smile that made her stomach do flips and turns. And then his round _ass _in those pants...!

Before Valkyrie could get too wrapped in her thoughts, Erskine pulled her into an embrace.

"Were you staring at my ass?" Erskine asked amused.

"It's a possibility," Valkyrie admitted as she slid her arms around his neck.

She looked up into his beautiful gray eyes; Valkyrie could just lose herself in those pools of silver.

Erskine leaned in and touched his warms lips to hers. Valkyrie moved her lips in synchronization with his. Erskine traced his tongue across her bottom lip, a silent plead for entry. Valkyrie's mouth instinctively parted for him and their tongues clashed together. Their tongues were exploring each other's mouth as if it was new territory, which as a matter of fact, was not.

Ravel's hands seemed to have a mind if their own as they rubbed Valkyrie's thigh up to her bottom.

Valkyrie gripped his muscled shoulders and traced her hands down to his chest.

_'God he is hot!'_Valkyrie thought to herself.

Valkyrie's hand traveled to his manhood, and Ravel groaned with pleasure.

Valkyrie had gotten tired of playing games so she pulled Ravel's shirt off. Erskine got the message and unbuttoned her shirt, and found a lacy black bra underneath. Before Ravel could get started on her jeans, there was a knocking on the door.

"Shit!" Valkyrie whispered.

With a swift movement Ravel had swooped down and picked up their clothing. He tossed Valkyrie her shirt and pulled his on his own.

Valkyrie tried to comb down her hair with her fingers but she wasn't really sure if she looked presentable enough. Ravel already had his shirt on and opened the door. There stood a very irritated Ghastly Bespoke.

"Ravel, I have been looking for you everywhere! Do you know how much work you need to do?" Ghastly's irritation spread throughout the room.

_'But we were having such a good time!'_Valkyrie mocked inside her head.

"I'm sorry Elder Bespoke, I have been quite busy lately," Erskine tried to keep his calm.

"What are you doing that's keeping you from work?" Ghastly asked curiously.

"Valkyrie and I have been planning a surprise party for Skulduggery. You know a little thank you gesture for all his hard work," Ravel's lie came smoothly as he had already practiced on what he would say if anyone ever caught them.

"A party? If you don't mind me saying, but Skulduggery isn't one for parties**.**" Ghastly raised a questioning eyebrow.

"That's why it's a surprise party," Valkyrie joined in and tried to save herself.

"Well I am not a part of this soon-to-be disaster ok?" And with that, Ghastly left the room and shut the door.

'That was close,' Valkyrie mentally sighed and turned back to Ravel to finish what they had started...

**_~END FLASHBACK~_**

Valkyrie cringed at the memory and remembered why she had stopped seeing Erskine.

Erskine had started being way too clingy. Valkyrie recalled that he had wanted to become serious and tell the others. That would be a _big_ mistake.

She risked a quick glance at Skulduggery. _'He could be a nice distraction,' _Valkyrie thought dreamily.

Even though he was a_ skeleton_, even though he was technically _dead, _Valkyrie thought Skulduggery was the sexiest man she ever met.

'_Now I have to find a way to get him…' _Valkyrie trailed off into thought of seducing Skulduggery.

"Valkyrie we need to get over China's and see if she has any information on our new case," Skulduggery's voice broke her Valkyrie out of her reverie. "It's possible that she may have some information to help us solve the case, but if she doesn't we could still use some of her books."

_"_Alright," Valkyrie said mocking irritation. Valkyrie had grown to like visiting China, for the woman had a habit of giving out helpful advice when she needed to.

The drive to China's was short and uneventful, an amazing feat for the amazing duo.

_'Let's just hope China doesn't guess what's going on.' _

Valkyrie knew China had a penchant for guessing things right on the spot, not a very good thing for Valkyrie though.

Skulduggery knocked on the door and the thin man in a bow tie opened the door. The man nodded politely to them and stepped aside as a gesture for them to enter.

Skulduggery entered and Valkyrie followed after him into the vast library of China Sorrows.

_'Here we go…' _Valkyrie thought as she saw China appear behind a bookcase.

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><p><strong>Please review! The flashback was necessary so please don't hurt me!<strong>


	5. Chapter 4

China Sorrows stood in the midst of her library. To say that China was pretty was an absolute understatement. China was wearing a green silk blouse that fit beautifully around her curves, and some tight-fitting white skinny jeans. Her hair was flowed neatly around her face.

"If it isn't the detectives," China greeted them in her usual kindness. "What brings you here?"

Valkyrie had gotten used to China's way of talking to her and Skulduggery, even if some of China's comments did deserve a good slapping. Valkyrie usually tuned Skulduggery and China out because they never really included her into their banter.

"Valkyrie, hello?" Skulduggery called out to a startled Valkyrie

"Huh?" Valkyrie really wasn't paying attention to the conversation. She had been putting some thought into dating Skulduggery. Sure it would be a little risking dating your best friend but he was a sexy skele-

"Valkyrie!" Skulduggery snapped and pulled Valkyrie out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" Valkyrie asked sheepishly.

"Did you hear any of the discussion?" Skulduggery said exasperatedly.

"Well you see here," Valkyrie started off stupidly but by Skulduggery's body language, Valkyrie could tell that he was in no mood to play games.

"Sorry," Valkyrie muttered.

"Let's get back to business, shall we?" China took it within herself to help these two out.

"Gladly," Skulduggery said dryly.

"The children of the spider have been murdered, so the Sanctuary sent you two, expecting the case to be solved," China began, "I have heard a little rumor that a well liked Texan is in town."

"Sanguine," Valkyrie sighed.

"Yes the burrowing mole. He was seen around the Sanctuary in Roarhaven and is the only lead you've got," China was tired of being serious so she added, "Now that I graciously gave you information, you wouldn't mind if I could talk to Valkyrie privately?"

Skulduggery seemed surprised, but left them alone nonetheless.  
>He walked off into the rows of books and now it was only Valkyrie and China.<p>

China smiled at Valkyrie, "Let's go into my apartment for more privacy."

Valkyrie followed her into the apartment and sat down on one of the chairs. China sat opposed of her and crossed her legs.

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow, "Well what did you want to talk about?"  
>Valkyrie had a vague idea of what China wanted but she didn't want to jump to conclusions yet.<p>

"Oh Valkyrie, it's nice to see you too," China laughed. "But you know how much I _love_hearing new gossip."

_'Ah, so should I tell her everything? What if she tells Skulduggery?'_Valkyrie thought worriedly.

"Nothing gossip-worthy has happened lately," Valkyrie decided to wing it.

"_Lately? _So something has happened, I take it?" China said smugly.

_'Dammit, she found a loophole!'_Valkyrie mentally cursed.

"Yes," Valkyrie admitted with defeat.

China's grin grew wide as she waited for Valkyrie to continue.

Valkyrie wasn't certain if she should tell her about Ravel, and Skulduggery. Or just Ravel. Or just Skulduggery.

_'This is going to be difficult,'_Valkyrie sighed in her head

"This isn't about Fletcher right?" China asked.

"No, this isn't about Fletcher," Valkyrie smile was painful.

"But this is about I boy, or man you could say?" China was getting close.

"Yes, but it's not just one man," Valkyrie said before thinking about it.

China leaned closer, anticipating what would come next in Valkyrie's tale.

"Go on," China encouraged.

Valkyrie sighed and told China what had happened with Ravel.

"Ravel? I've never really pictured him like that," China mused after Valkyrie told her about their 'meetings'.

"But that's all it was," Valkyrie tried to convince China, "It was only a physical relationship. Nothing too serious."

"I see, but who is this other man?" China asked with curiosity lighting up her eyes.

_'Uh oh...'_Valkyrie thought.

"Well you see - his name is - you might not like this," Valkyrie stumbled on her words.

China looked as if she might fall off her chair with anticipation.

"Just spit it out!" China blurted.

"Alright, alright!" Valkyrie raised her hands in defeat. "It's Skulduggery."

If China wasn't so graceful, she might've flipped off her chair with surprise.

"Skulduggery?" China asked incredulously."That's who you've been having a relationship with?"

Valkyrie processed China's words and quickly corrected her.

"No! I meant I would _like_to have a relationship with him, but I don't. It just wouldn't work out," Valkyrie finished off sadly.

Valkyrie put her hands in her head and waited for China to tell her off about her decision.  
>She never did.<p>

Valkyrie looked up with timid eyes, how strange of her.

China was smiling at her. "Valkyrie, do you know what this means?" China asked with mild excitement.

"Uh no?" Valkyrie was quite confused.

"I get to give you a makeover!" China exclaimed. "You need to look your best if you want to get Skulduggery."

As much as Valkyrie appreciated China's acceptance, she wasn't so cheerful about a makeover.

"China, it's really not-" Valkyrie was cut off by Skulduggery walking into the apartment.

"Ladies, can you _please_wrap it up now? We have a case to solve," Skulduggery said irritably.

China looked at Skulduggery, and then she looked at Valkyrie, and back to Skulduggery.

"We just finished, thank you very much," China smirked. "Bye Valkyrie, we can talk later."

"Bye to you too," Skulduggery grumbled.

China ignored him and gestured to the door, Skulduggery took that as his invitation to leave.

"Come on Valkyrie."

Skulduggery tugged on her sleeve and lead her out of the apartment, out of the library, and out onto the street.

"What were you ladies talking about?" Skulduggery asked when they had gotten into the Bentley.

"Just things," Valkyrie was at loss for words, so coming up with an excuse wasn't that easy.

"Hmm" was all that Skulduggery said for the rest of the ride.

_'I really hope Valkyrie is ok,'_Skulduggery thought.

_'I could never live with myself knowing that I could've helped her. And she can't even talk to me about it! When did she become best friends with China? What did I do wrong?'_ Skulduggery's thoughts put him into a depressed mood. Why didn't Valkyrie trust him anymore?

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><p><strong>Sorry about the wait, please review!<strong>


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